The above points are a big reason why I find independent blogs far more entertaining, educational and enlightening than nearly all of the glossy magazines ever were. Granted, there are some pretty poorly written/designed/developed blogs out there too, but the price is right and I find that there are generally more well-written sailing/crusing blogs than I can keep up with.

KW- Yours being one near the top of the heap (the heap of good blogs, not the other heap). Still its nice to sit back and read something in the glossy mags.

I'm down to GOB and Cruising World. I don't mind the ridiculous boat reviews in CW. I will never be in the market for a new boat anyway.

No mention of the most important thing in a cruising boat ,directional stability on a broad reach in rough seas. The consider what most of us would call "exorbitantly priced" to be "Reasonably priced." They have zero interset in any hands on knowledge, just telling peopele to buy, buy and buy some more.
Rather than real practical cruising people, they are aimed at "Plastic people, in plastic boats, living in a make believe plastic world."

I'd consider "nasty" as those who destroy cruising dreams for people who dont have a lot of money, by denying them access to information on affordable ways of doing it, and promote the false , elitist ,notion that the cruising life is strictly for the rich.
It's a direction that Cruising World and other magazines have taken lately.
Now that's nasty!

Seriously CW does have some DIY articles and it is nice to read about all those places with palm trees, but it would be nice if the ratio of content to ads was tipped a little more toward content. It would also be nice if they had more articles on places we're more likely to sail.

As for getting honest, critical boat reviews - well I've pretty much given up on that idea.

I'd consider "nasty" as those who destroy cruising dreams for people who dont have a lot of money, by denying them access to information on affordable ways of doing it, and promote the false , elitist ,notion that the cruising life is strictly for the rich.
It's a direction that Cruising World and other magazines have taken lately.
Now that's nasty!

C'mon, you cannot be serious... How the hell is CW "denying anyone access to information on affordable ways of doing it"?

Hmmm, why am I getting the very distinct impression that those whining loudest about the demise of a magazine like CRUISING WORLD actually rarely bother to look at it?

Two of the regular columns are written by Fatty Goodlander, and Ben Zartmann. One has sailed around the world twice in a 40 year old wreck from Hurricane Hugo he purchased for a couple of thousand bucks... The other built his Cape George 31 from a bare hull, fashioned his mast out of an aluminum light pole, and is cruising with his family on a minimalist budget few singlehanders around he could likely match...

In recent months, CW has had feature-length profiles of Thies Matsen and Kiki Ericsson, who've cruised for a couple of decades on Hiscock's WANDERER III, spending a couple of winters in S. Georgia... Herb McCormick's recent profile of Matt Rutherford was far and away the best I've seen about Matt... Hell, Herb even profiled ME a couple of years ago, and I'm about as bare-bones as it gets... (grin)

Instead of the Pardeys and Paysons, CW now routinely offers contributions from Alvah and Diana Simon, and Beth Leonard and Evans Starzinger... I really don't see any significant distinction, there - Alvah and Diana have matched anything their predecessors have done, and Beth and Evans have contributed as much to the knowledge base about cruising as ANYONE ever has... What other rag has featured the remarkable Southern Ocean exploits of Deborah Shapiro and Rolf Bjelke, for example?

Lots of whining about the modern direction cruising has taken, but it's certainly not publications like CW who are directing such an evolution, they are simply a reflection of it... CW reviews few "affordable" boats, only because so few builders are actually building them... In my observation, when someone does come up with something new in that realm - such as the Presto 30 - CW is usually very quick to feature it...

Really, I think some folks need to lighten up, I think that for a consumer magazine that makes its profits from the sale of Advertising (amazing how many people seem ignorant of how consumer publishing actually works), CW still does a pretty decent job of covering the entire spectrum of the world of cruising...

No mention of the most important thing in a cruising boat ,directional stability on a broad reach in rough seas. The consider what most of us would call "exorbitantly priced" to be "Reasonably priced." They have zero interset in any hands on knowledge, just telling peopele to buy, buy and buy some more.
Rather than real practical cruising people, they are aimed at "Plastic people, in plastic boats, living in a make believe plastic world."

Plastics, my boy. Plastics! That's where the future is. Didn't you get the word? Forget about metal.....that's so last century. Plastics.....

On pricing, we just have to work harder, make more, and spend more on this elitist hobby we have chosen. Back to work now. we've got to make a few more bucks before we knock off.

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